Council Returns: Vellucci, Danehy, Crane Surge Toward Re-Election

Three incumbent city councillors surged toward re-election yesterday as Cambridge continued its complex counting of Tuesday's election returns.

Incumbents Alfred E. Vellucci. Thomas W. Denehy, and Edward A. Crane '35 each received more than 150 votes in the redistribution of Walter J. Sullivan's surplus.

Sullivan is the only city councillor thus far officially elected; he attained the necessary quota of 2499 votes from his "number one" ballots. After yesterday's redistribution of Sullivan's 1100 vote surplus to the "number two" candidates marked on each of the 1100 ballots, Vellucci, Danehy, and Crane now need only 78 votes, 152 votes, and 254 votes respectively to meet the quota.

School committeeman Daniel J. Clinton also received a boost-an additional 140 votes-from the redistribution. Clinton, who ranks seventh with a total of 1766 votes, seems to be moving toward election, as do challenger Robert Moncrieff (fifth with 2112 votes) and incumbent Barbara Ackormann (sixth with 1826 votes).

Incumbent councillor Thomas H. D. Mahoney retained eighth place after the redistribution; Mahoney now has a total of 1415 votes.

Though they shuffled positions slightly, the ninth through eleventh ranking candidates continued to be tightly bunched together. Council aspirant Leonard J. Russell is now ninth with 1259 votes, while incumbent Daniel J. Hayes Jr. stands tenth with 1225, and former councillor Thomas Coates is eleventh with 1200.

Eliminations

Today, the Election Commission will begin eliminating the candidates ranking lowest in the field of 26 candidates, giving their ballots to their voters' "number two" choices. These eliminations may well produce some dramatic shifts higher in the standings.

No new School Committee returns emerged yesterday. In that race, the Election Commission spent the day ratifying the results of Thursday's initial count.

In that count incumbent David Wylie, James F. Fitzgerald, and Francis H. Duehay '55, assistant dean of the Graduate School of Education, finished in the first three places with 3012, 3200, and 2731 votes, respectively. Ed School student Francis Q. Hayes placed fifth.